A STAR turn from Helensburgh’s Sam Bremner in the series opener wasn’t enough for the Jillaroos to earn Auckland Nines revenge on the Kiwi Ferns on Sunday.
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The Australians caught New Zealand on the hop on day one with an 11-4 win in the first of three games at Eden Park.
Bremner scored a try and linked with Helensburgh clubmate Maddie Studdo to throw the final pass for the Jillaroos second, the match-winner, for Allana Ferguson.
Bremner’s first half four-pointer in which she finished off a 90-metre team effort started by lock Kody House was one of the tries of the the tournament.
"I was actually just saying to the girls for a while there I was watching Kody [House] make her run and cheering her on," Bremner said.
"I quickly realised I had to get there so these tired legs got on the bike and I ended up getting there in the end which paid off.
"The Kiwi defence is really good so we were a very lucky team to have scored that try."
The Kiwi-Ferns hit back strongly on day two with a 9-0 victory in game two through tries to Mary-Jane Ale and a long-range effort to Tasha Davie locking the series up at one apiece.
The home side took things up a notch in the decider with an against the run of play try to House the only glimmer of hope fro the Jillaroos, keeping the match alive at 14-7 with five minutes to play in the second half.
The Kiwi Ferns snuffed out any chance of a late comeback with Kristina Sue’s 40-metre effort and a bonus-point try captain Sarina Fiso closing the show.